초록 ▼

A communication relay having a large number of free-flying, self-powered miniature spacecraft (10M) that cooperate to form a large antenna array with sufficient aperture and gain to focus transmit and receive beams much more accurately than in conventional satellite communication relays. The miniatu

A communication relay having a large number of free-flying, self-powered miniature spacecraft (10M) that cooperate to form a large antenna array with sufficient aperture and gain to focus transmit and receive beams much more accurately than in conventional satellite communication relays. The miniature spacecraft, or microsatellites, fly in a single constellation (10) but are allowed to drift in relative position because no rigid structure is provided to restrain their relative movement. Operation as a large phased-array antenna system is achieved by providing for accurate measurements of the microsatellite positions in real time. In one disclosed form of the array, a control satellite (20) conditions the microsatellites (10M) to form receive and transmit beams in desired directions. Received uplink signals are transmitted over communication crosslinks (42) to the control satellite (20), which forwards signals back to the microsatellites after conditioning them to form a transmit beam when forwarding the signals on as a downlink, transmission. A constellation (10) of microsatellites of the type disclosed may also be used as a deep-space communication relay, or as a radio-telescope.

대표청구항 ▼

[ We claim:] [1.] A method for communicating from one ground-based transceiver to another using a satellite communication relay operating at ultra-high frequencies, and wavelengths up to approximately one meter, the method comprising the steps of:conditioning a large number of free-flying, structura

[ We claim:] [1.] A method for communicating from one ground-based transceiver to another using a satellite communication relay operating at ultra-high frequencies, and wavelengths up to approximately one meter, the method comprising the steps of:conditioning a large number of free-flying, structurally independent, cooperative transponders to function cooperatively as a single phased-array antenna with a receive beam directed toward a transceiver that is ready to transmit an uplink signal, wherein the transponders are moving in adjacent but independent orbits as a single constellation of satellites and each transponder has faces and multiple antennas installed in the multiple faces;transmitting the uplink signal from the transceiver to all of the transponders acting in cooperation as a single phased-array antenna;receiving the uplink signal at the transponders;conditioning the transponders to function cooperatively as a single phased-array phased array antenna with a transmit beam directed toward a destination; andtransmitting a downlink signal from the transponders acting in cooperation as a single phased-array antenna, to the destination transceiver;wherein the receive beam and the transmit beam provide independent and simultaneous uplink and downlink paths;wherein the transponders are sufficiently numerous and widely spaced to provide a large antenna aperture and relatively narrow receive and transmit beams that permit reuse of transceiver frequencies in different locations;and wherein the steps of conditioning the transponders includesperiodically determining the locations of the individual transponders by detecting their angular positions and ranges with respect to a number of special-purpose satellites in known orbits,interposing a selected time delay for uplink signals received at each transponder and for downlink signals transmitted from each transponder, wherein the time delays are computed using phased-array antenna principles and based on the locations of the transponders and the intended direction of the receive and transmit beams,detecting the orientation of each transponder, andapplying antenna selection signals to each transponder, based on its detected orientation, to select the antennas in each transponder that provide for maximum transponder antenna gain for the uplink and downlink signals, and for signals transmitted and received over the communication crosslinks.